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Baptism of the Lord January 10, 2021

13623 Rockside Road Garfield Heights, Ohio

44125

Parish Office: (216) 662-8685

fax: (216) 662-1245 website: saintmonicachurch.net

St. Benedict: (216) 662-9380 Early Learning Center

(216) 475-3633

OCFCU (216) 663-6800

MASSES: 7 days a week Saturday: 4:00 p.m. Sunday: 9:00 a.m.

and 10:45 a.m. Monday-Friday: 8:00 a.m.

PARISH OFFICE HOURS

The Parish Office is open 8:00am—4:00 pm. Mon.,

Tues. & Thurs & 8:00 am— Noon on Wed. & Fri. We

request anyone who comes to the parish office to please

wear a mask. Thank you.

PARISH CLERGY

Rev. Thomas A. Haren, Pastor Rev. Theodore Marszal,

Senior Parochial Vicar Rev. Jerome Lukachinsky, Retired, in Residence

Rev. Thomas G. Montavon, Retired, in Residence

Stan Drozell, Deacon

PASTORAL STAFF

Sister Helene Skrzyniarz SSJ-TOSF,

Parish Catechetical Leader srhelene@saintmonicachurch.net

Bob Soeder, Director of Liturgy and Music

Stan Jakosh, Business Mgr

Susan Shepka, Office Mgr

Kathy Piggford, Pastoral Council Chairman

Kathy Wendling, Finance Council Chairman

BAPTISM: Please make arrangements in advance. Baptisms are performed on Sundays, immediately following the 10:45 a.m. Mass. Pre-Baptismal instruction is required for parents. Please call the Parish Office for time of next scheduled class.

Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA): Adults and school-age children seeking full membership in the Catholic Church through the sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation, and Eucharist can make an appt. to continue their conversion process by calling the Parish Office.

RECONCILIATION: Opportunities to celebrate God’s forgiveness in one’s life are available on Saturday afternoons from 3:15-3:45 p.m. Individual appointments with a Priest can be arranged.

MATRIMONY: The Diocese of Cleveland requires a 6-month preparation period for marriage. Call the Parish Office to set your wedding date and plan your celebration.

CONFIRMATION: Any adult or high school student needing Confirmation, please call the Parish Office to schedule preparation.

ANOINTING OF THE SICK: Celebrated upon request. Call the Parish Office to make arrangements with one of our Priests.

NEW PARISHIONERS: Please call the Parish Office to register.

ST. BENEDICT CATHOLIC SCHOOL: Provides Catholic education for students K-8. School hrs.: 8:00 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Before & After Care available. Mrs. Lisa Oriti, School Principal

EUCHARIST FOR THE HOMEBOUND: Parish Team and Staff Members visit the homebound on a monthly basis. If you or someone you know is homebound and would like to receive communion, call the Parish Office.

Bulletin Announcements due to sshepka@saintmonicachurch.net by

NOON on Friday

Catholic Church

St. Monica St. Monica January 10, 2021

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Baptism of the Lord January 10, 2021

Please keep in your prayers the following members of our Parish Community:

William, Aubrey Rae, Janet Roppel, Michael Wyrzykowski, James Gorman, Carol DeLooze, Special Intention, Alexandria Romanowski, Jeri Grzybowski, Patricia Chesney, Vivian Budd, Ba-

by Harrison Justin, Gerald DeLooze, Bill Paluscsak, and Joanne Reddinger. The names will remain in the bulletin for two weeks. Please call the parish office if your name or a loved one’s name needs to be added to the list. If you have a special intention you would like remembered in prayer, please call Lillian Neptune (216) 662-5464.

Our sincere sympathy and prayers are extended to the family and friends of those who were recently buried: Myles Timothy Feeney, Dolores Kucinic, Joseph Delib-erato and Rev. Ernest Hepner . May they and all our

faithful departed, rest in peace.

Pastoral Scene Six Degrees of Separation The theory of Six Degrees of Separation says that a con-nection can be shown between any two people in the world within a matter of six degrees (or steps). For example, one might find that I have a connection to none other than Frú Brunhildé Bilchmoinknersen of Árborg Iceland through the following process: Step 1: My first cousin has a friend in California named Sam. Step 2: Sam’s brother-in-law has an uncle in Massachu-setts named Larry. Step 3: Larry’s mother has a twin sister named Doris. Step 4: Doris’ grandfather came from England. His name is Throckmorton. Step 5: Throckmorton’s wife is from Árborg Iceland. Her name is Olivia. Step 6: Olivia’ best friend (who incidentally was their Maid of Honor) is Brunhildé. Therefore, within 6 degrees, I have a connection with Frú Brunhildé Bilchmoinknersen of Árborg Iceland. And so goes the theory, as far-fetched as it may seem. However, I’ve had a number of incidents in my life (not quite always in six degrees) but interesting enough to make me wonder. One such incident happened a few years ago. During Mass someone became ill and was taken out by ambulance. Within an hour after this took place, I received a text mes-sage from a close friend who lives on the other side of town. The text was asking me about what had just hap-pened in Church. I texted back and asked him how he knew about it. My friend responded that the aunt of one of his close friends goes to our parish. Apparently, this aunt told the friend and happened to mention the name of our Church. The friend in turn told my friend in a roundabout conversation. My friend, recognizing that his friend was talking about our parish, contacted me. You just never know who may be watching or listening – and what they may be saying - and to whom they may be saying it. This causes me to take a moment to reflect upon how potentially positive or (if done poorly) how potentially negative the result of one’s influence may be. This is a les-son one should always keep in mind, whether in the public sector or in the private sector. A word or a gesture can be life-giving or it can be deadly – and both can be very far reaching. Case in point: we’re all connected in this world. What we do matters, what we say matters, how we treat each other matters, and how we conduct our life matters! A simple incident can have a far reaching impact within these Six Degrees of Separation.

Bob Soeder

Sunday, January 10 Baptism of the Lord 9:00 Mr. & Mrs. Joseph Ungarsky and Mr. & Mrs. Paul Svoboda 10:45 People of the Parish

Monday, January 11 Weekday 8:00 William & Lillian Schaefer

Tuesday, January 12 Weekday 8:00 Diane Fargo

Wednesday, January 13 Weekday 8:00 Christine Backo

Thursday, January 14 Weekday 8:00 Living & deceased members of Andy Fargo Family

Friday, January 15 Weekday 8:00 Lula Belle Williams

Saturday, January 16 Weekday 3:15 Confession 4:00 People of the Parish

Sunday, January 17 Second Sunday in Ordinary Time 9:00 Robert & Olga Mohorcic 10:45 Ernest Malicki

LITURGY SCHEDULE

Monday –Friday 8:00 a.m.

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Baptism of the Lord January 10, 2021

Religion Question of the Week What is the definition of “Sanctifying Grace”? (Answer on page 4)

Did You Know? Did you know that over 150 households viewed the Christmas Masses on the St. Monica Website last week? One Liner “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son”. (John 3/16)

The next Baptism class will be held on Tuesday, January 12th at 6:30 in the Parish Office. If you would like to have your child Baptized, please call the Parish Office to register: 216-662-8685

Join us every Thursday at 6:00 pm in CHURCH as we pray

the Rosary. All are invited.

Divine Mercy is this Sunday, January 10 at 2:30 pm in Church. All are welcome. Please wear a mask or face covering.

$1,000 Holy Name Monthly Raffle Winners-December 27th

$500.00 Chet Balewski #1288 Seller: Chet Balewski

Captain: Bob Rafal $500.00 Tom Biel #1163

Seller: Ben Welich Captain: Ben Welich

Catholic Religious Calendars

We have received a

small supply of 2021 calendars that are

available for pick up at the Parish Office.

Because of the lim-ited supply we have, they are

limited to one calendar per parish family.

Precepts of the Church For members of the Catholic Church, there are

certain moral obligations that must be observed by

those who want to be considered as “Practicing

Catholics”. These seven are all based on the teach-

ings of Jesus Christ.

Catholics should attend Mass on all Sundays,

and Holy Days of obligation.

Catholics should receive Holy Communion at

least once a year during the Easter Season.

Catholics should receive the Sacrament of Pen-

ance at least once a year.

Catholics should Fast, and Abstain from

Meat, on the appointed days during Lent.

Catholics should be married in a Catholic

Church.

Catholics should contribute to the support of

their Church.

Catholics should receive the three Sacraments

of Christian Initiation, and live good lives

according to the teachings of Jesus Christ.

In times of frustration and doubt, we can feel unseen, for-getting the value of our small actions toward both people

and the creatures of the earth.

Dear God,

When I feel invisible, unworthy, or unheard in the clamor and uproar of the world, help me return to the truth of how precious and alive even the smallest acts are.

There’s holiness in every action, especially in the gentle repetition of caring for all those we love.

Help us see that everything we do matters and touches you.

Amen

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Baptism of the Lord January 10, 2021

PARISH ACTIVITIES Stewardship Offertory Collections

Regular Offertory……………………...….$ 2,914.00 St. Monica Fund………………………….$ 37.00 Misc Specials……... ……………………..$ 93.00 Kids Envelopes……………………………$ 1.00 CHRISTMAS to date …..………… $19,006.00 St. Monica Fund………………………..$ 571.00 Sunday Envelopes……………………..$ 2,215.00 Misc. Specials……………………………$ 472.00

New Year’s…………………………………….$1,062.00 Sunday Regular Offertory……………….$ 420.00 St. Monica Fund…………………………….$ 85.00 Misc. Special Envelopes………………….$ 225.00

Regular Offertory……………………...….$ 5, 212.00 St. Monica Fund………………………….$ 753.00 Misc Specials……... ……………………..$ 756.00 Additional Christmas…………………….$ 1,570.00

Please continue to mail in your donations, Donate online or drop off at the office .

Thank you for your continued support.

MONDAY, January 11 4:15 p.m. Walk in the Park (Hike & Bike Trail) 7:00 p.m. Finance Council Mtg (F)

TUESDAY, January 12 6:30 p.m. Baptism Class (F)

WEDNESDAY, January 13 5:00 p.m. G.A. (+) 6:00 p.m. RCIA (J)

THURSDAY, January 14 6:00 p.m. Rosary (+) FRIDAY, January 15

SATURDAY, January 16 12:00 p.m. RCIA 4:00 p.m. Mass

SUNDAY, January 17 9:00 a.m. Mass (+) 10:45 a.m. Mass (+)

December 27, 2020

Answer to This Week’s Religion Question

What is the definition of “Sanctifying Grace”?

Answer: Sanctifying Grace is God’s life in our soul.

A Prayer for Priests and Seminarians

Saint Michael the Archangel, defend our priests and Seminarians in bat-tle. Be their protection against the wicked-ness and snares of the devil. Win for them the grace to be heroic in the pursuit and practice of virtue, courageous

in fulfilling the will of God, and steadfast in the face of temptation and desolation. Intercede for them so that they have the strength to take up their crosses daily, to love without counting the cost, and to give generously of themselves. Saint Michael, pray to God of peace that He may put Satan under our feet, so far conquered that he may no longer be able to hold people in captivity and harm the Church. We entrust our priests and seminarians to the lov-ing and maternal care of Our Lady, Queen of Angels, and we ask all of this in the name of Jesus. Amen

Please keep the following Seminarians—as well as all of the seminarians—in your prayers: Joe Menkhaus Jr., Jeffrey Lindholm, Kyle Rosser, James Livingston, Anthony Donatelli, Travis Seagraves, James Parisi, Luke Rose, Joseph McCarron, and Christopher Cotone.

An Act of Spiritual Communion

My Jesus,

I believe that You are present in the Most Ho-

ly Sacrament. I love You above all things, and

I desire to receive You into my soul. Since I

cannot at this moment receive You sacramen-

tally, come at least spiritually into my heart. I embrace You

as if You were already there and unite myself wholly to

You. Never permit me to be separated from You. Amen.

Winterfest Announcement For the last nine years we have held our an-

nual Winterfest, a family fun filled weekend

while raising monies needed to help offset

the cost of running St. Monica Church. It is

with sadness that we must announce that

due to the corona virus pandemic that we need to cancel

this event due to social distance restrictions. Thank you

for all of your prayers and help with Winterfest in the past

and hopefully we will see you next year!

January 3, 2021

January 1, 2021

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Baptism of the Lord January 10, 2021

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Baptism of the Lord January 10, 2021

Catholic Cemeteries Association Monthly Sunday Grief Support January 17

th:

Catholic Cemeteries Association continues with our free monthly in-office grief support groups on January 17

th with limited seating for social dis-

tancing. We offer a comfortable, private, and safe environment where you are free to talk about your grief. Meetings do not build off each other so you can stop in any month and fit right in. You do not even have to talk, but come and listen and be in the presence of those who under-stand. The January topic is “Facing the New Year with Hope and Love” but discussions follow whatever is on your heart. We meet the 3

rd Sun-

day of every month from 3:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. at the following locations:

Saint Joseph Cemetery, Avon (NEW office); Holy Cross Cemetery, Akron (office);

Holy Cross Cemetery, Brook Park (office); Calvary Cemetery, Cleveland (office);

All Saints Cemetery, Northfield (office); All Souls Cemetery, Chardon (office).

Meeting sites are sanitized and seating is ar-ranged so everyone is at a safe distance. Partici-pants are requested to RSVP so we can plan ap-propriate social distancing at each location. It is required that participants wear protective facial coverings. To RSVP or for questions, please contact Rhonda at 216-930-4866.

“A Closer Walk With Thee” – CCA Monthly Grief Support E-Newsletter:

Don’t forget to subscribe to the Catholic Cemeteries Association’s monthly grief support e-newsletter, “A Closer Walk with Thee”. This e-newsletter is emailed the first Tuesday of each month to any family/individual who has expressed an interest in our bereavement programs. To subscribe to this valued grief support resource, visit the Bereavement page on our website and click the brown signup box on the right side, contact Rhonda at 216-930-4866. You can also click this link and go directly to the sig-nup https://bit.ly/ccabereavementbulletin .

All Saints Federal Credit Union is running a Debt

Consolidation Loan Promo-tion! Borrow up to

$3000.00 with a rate as low

as 7.99% for 12 months. This promotion runs from January 1, 2021 through March 31, 2021. Visit or

call any of our three branch locations; for hours, ad-dresses, phone numbers, and additional information, please visit our website at www.allsaintsfcu.com or call 216-524-0414, 216-587-0631, or 440-888-3663.

Garfield Heights Knights of Columbus Wednesday Night Dinners:

January 13 -- Chicken Parmesan -Reservations by Sunday January 10 … 8PM

Prepared by Lori's Custom Catering --- phone 216-566-2277 --- MAILBOX #3

Dinner consists of 1 piece of Chicken Parme-san with pasta, Italian Wedding Soup, Cae-sar Salad, Roll & Butter

- EVERYTHING IS PACKAGED - PRE-ORDER ONLY -

TAKEOUT - Curbside Pickup - NO BAKERY. SERVING TIME 4 - 6 PM Please leave your complete name, phone number and number of dinners you will be picking up. We will need your phone number in case we need to contact you due to an unfortunate situation that we may need to cancel due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Please no changes day of. Thank you for your continued patronage. If someone else is picking up - leave their name also.